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Business Culture in Italy

Business etiquette and culture are different all around the world, and it’s these subtle nuances that make a huge difference. In Italy, they would much rather have face-to-face communication rather than meetings via email, or video-chat. This is because, Italians want to know one another and trust one another before doing any business with you. An example would be Luxottica Retail. It is an international company Headquartered in Milan Italy as well as in America. However, employees’ desks set up in Italy does not have cubicle walls whereas the ones in America do.

Also, Italians are not as time oriented as Americans. If a meeting is scheduled for a certain time, it is not uncommon to expect the meeting to actually begin about twenty to thirty minutes after the scheduled time.

In addition, Italians put a large emphasis on their personal appearances. If you want to be successful in Italy, you have to dress the part and act the part. It is only common to see professionals go to work in designer suits, and elegant dresses. Nothing but the best is acceptable when it comes to attire and appearance. This is somewhat different from American culture where Americans don’t put as much emphasis on clothing and appearances but rather on one’s determination and hard work, which embodies the ideal picture of the American Dream.

These are just a few of the differences in the business cultures between America and Italy.